FIERCE FIGHTING ON APPROACHES TO BIHAC TOWN, U.N. SAYS

SARAJEVO, Nov 16 (Hina) - UN and NATO officials today continued intense consultations on the situation in west Bosnia and the Bihac safe zone, the UN said. UN spokesman Paul Risley told a Sarajevo press conference that UN special representative Yasushi Akashi and NATO officials were examining necessary measures to be taken. He added that UN officials in New York were also involved in the talks. Risley said it seemed Bosnian and Croatian Serbs were respecting the Bihac safe zone, for the time being. UN military spokesman Tim Spicer reported fierce clashes between the Bosnian government army Fifth Corps and Serb forces on approaches to Bihac town. Spicer described the situation on the Grabez plateau as unclear. According to a map presented to reporters today at UN Sarajevo headquarters, Serb forces gained control of some territory in the Bihac pocket held by the Fifth Corp before the start of the latest government offensive. UN peacekeepers spotted about 20 buses full of armed men loyal to breakaway Moslem leader Fikret Abdic, moving towards the Bihac enclave from occupied Croatian territory. The UN believed their aim was to join Serb forces in battles against Bosnian government troops. (hina) mm sd vm 161340 MET nov 94